A Couple of Weirdos
by TheBlueJetpack
Summary: Rancis and Candlehead have been good friends for a long time now, but Rancis begins to wonder if his friendship with her lies a little deeper than that when he takes the girl out to explore the untapped locations of Sugar Rush. Adventurous escapades, weird discoveries, and a literal mess may hold the key to turning his world upside down. Sequel to 'To Light a Candle'.
1. Sweet Victory

_A/N: This 'short' story actually ended up being so long, that I decided to split it into a multi-chapter read. As stated, this is indeed a sequel of 'To Light a Candle', picking up pretty much immediately after it, so I recommend reading that story first. Also, read that book, 'One Sweet Race', too since A LOT of references from that are made here. If you don't own the book…go watch it on Youtube. That's where I read it!_

_Feedback is welcome!_

* * *

A Couple of Weirdos

June 3, 2019 – August 11, 2019

**Part 1 – Sweet Victory**

Racers' Ave. was an expansive stretch of pure gingerbread road sprinkled with icing sugar dust and bordered by chocolate truffles of various sizes and tastes. This location wasn't nearly as impressive as the other landmarks that _Sugar Rush _featured, what with Gumball Gorge, Diet Cola Mountain, and the Crystalized Caramel Caverns being far worthier candidates among so many others. But it was very essential, for along this ordinary road stood the homes of the game's feisty, sugar-hyped juvenile racers. A street of great length, there was considerable distance between everyone's property and the next, from Jubileena's red-hot cherry cottage at the head of the street to Crumbelina's luxury mansion located at the very end. Each place of residence was unique for each kid who lived there and these buildings were easily what made this landmark so iconic.

Inside her red velvet cupcake house, Candlehead lay upon her sponge cake bed, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine streaming through one of the many windows bore into the cake. Though it was actually around 8 o'clock in the early evening, _Sugar Rush _wasn't programmed with a night mode, thus it was always sunny. Despite this, everyone could still tell the time, just like the residents of _Fix-It Felix Jr_ could_, _thought they were accustomed to their world being set continuously at night. It had been a big adjustment to Candlehead when she had temporarily come to live there when her beloved game was out of commission. Prior to that incident, she and all her friends had never experienced pitch darkness as an environment setting before.

Her bedroom was adorned with many decorations that gave the impression of a birthday party currently being thrown. Colourful streamers were strung from corner to corner, balloons floated lazily upon the ceiling, and there were candles. Lots and lots of candles. Candles of many shapes and colours sat on just about every flat surface Candlehead could find, each radiating a soft amber-orange glow that made her bedroom so cozy and she felt right at home. Candles were one of her biggest passions.

The girl literally wore a candle on her head, what did you expect?

Out of her large collection of candles, the one she wore every day on her beanie was her most prized possession, even more so than her kart and few _Sugar Rush _cups. Whenever there was a race, the very first thing she did was to quickly transfer this little red candle from her beanie to the top of her racing helmet, wearing it proudly for the players and the crowds of cheering citizens to see. She couldn't quite explain why, but just having a cute little flame burning on top of her head granted her an immense amount of happiness. The only time she put it out was right before bed, and she would relight it first thing in the morning. It was her favourite ritual.

What a weirdo. But she was everyone's favourite weirdo.

It was Sunday evening, which meant the Random Roster race was to be held for tomorrow's gameplay avatar selection. With the arcade closed on Sundays, the kids had enjoyed an entire day with their adoptive parents and had returned to _Sugar Rush _about an hour ago to prepare for the race. Most of them went back to their respective homes to ready their go-karts with a final maintenance check or perhaps by adding upgrades and secret power-ups. There were no rules against modifications made to the karts in hopes of enhancing their performance; the only catch was that any accessories that the racers wished to install simply depended on if they could afford them from the kart bakery, the only facility in the game where such precious items were stored and sold. And ever since Vanellope and Ralph's break-in six years ago, Beard Papa had become far more alert for intruders on the property. Yet somehow, even with all the new security measures, prankster Gloyd always managed to steal parts under the cops' candy noses.

At present, Candlehead didn't have enough money to buy anything largely impressive for her kart, so she had resigned to just leaving it as it was and relax a bit before the race. The Ice Screamer ran fine, though she would admit that it could perhaps use a new engine. She thought it was silly that the bakery was the only place in town that distributed such essential parts, given that she would be unfavourable to the players if she drove a dysfunctional kart. Slow speed was not overlooked in _Sugar Rush_ given the fact that the gameplay's entire premise was racing, so you could hardly blame her for expressing a bit of worry. Though she tried not to show it, Candlehead was finding it difficult to mask her growing fear of the consequences for her poor performance if the arcade players were to catch on.

There was, however, a glimmer of hope that couldn't help but raise her spirits on this particular issue. Just the other night, Rancis had told her about the time Vanellope had helped him to construct a kart from scratch using bits and pieces they had found all over their confectionary world to fashion them into suitable parts. Before retiring to their sleeping bags on that star-lit night, he had promised Candlehead that he would show her all these places after tonight's race. They sounded amazing and she was really looking forward to it; maybe she could find a new engine out there somewhere. Plus, she was looking forward to spending some time with Rancis.

Candlehead fiddled merrily with her little pigtails and smiled as her thoughts now turned over to her friend. Rancis was so nice nowadays. For 15 years, he had been much the opposite: snobbish, vain, and all-business, only thinking about himself, and was quite the bully to those around him when he did choose to interact. She was sorry to say that she herself had been much like that. Their mean spirits however, had been partly due to their memory being literally locked away. Once Turbo had been defeated, Rancis had become notably nicer, though still tended to be slightly reserved. Felix and Calhoun's few days of adoption had brought a final change upon him, for he was now more or less a gentleman towards his peers, especially the female racers. While retaining a slight glow of his egotistical side, he was definitely much more pleasant to be around. This certainly wasn't the all-business, play-for-the-win, stick-in-the-fudge Rancis Fluggerbutter she knew since their game was first plugged in, but honestly, she liked this one a whole lot better.

And it wasn't just his personality change that she had noticed. As of late, she had begun to secretly eye his little quirks and habits. The way he narrowed his eyes tightly as he concentrated on the road ahead of him just before the green light flashed from the marshmallow flagman's signal lights. The mandatory headshake to give his blond hair a flick to the side followed by running his hand over it upon removing his racing helmet. That smile he flashed her whenever they spoke to each other which she knew was his signature confident smile, but ended up making him look downright adorable in her eyes instead. And the cute way he would stuff his hands into the pockets of his jacket and come out with nothing during the rare times when he was nervous. All these gestures Candlehead took into account and it would be a lie to say that she hadn't quietly developed a slight attraction to the peanut butter-themed boy, though she didn't dare tell him that.

Thinking of such things just gave her every reason to look forward to tonight.

The loud chime-like honk of a kart's horn caused the nerves of her code to stream, alerting signals through her body and prompting her to quickly sit up in bed. Peering out the window to the street, she laid eyes on a kart built out of a giant slice of cherry pie and sporting four large wheels of cheery ice cream. Its driver waved to her.

"Come on, Candlehead! You're going to be late for the race!"

Jubileena Bing-Bing must have spotted the Ice Screamer parked in the driveway, indicating that its owner hadn't left yet. Good ol' Jubi, always being so observant and looking out for others. Candlehead waved back to her from the window and dashed out the door, but not before grabbing her racing helmet on the way out and performing the mandatory candle transfer. It was time to race!

* * *

With one last rumble of the engine, Rancis Fluggerbutter brought the Kit Kart to a smooth stop behind Adorabeezle's gleaming Ice Rocket at the finish line and pulled the Sour Key out of the ignition slot. The Random Roster race was over, and boy, had it been one heck of an adrenaline rush. He thought he had performed decently tonight, having narrowly dodged Gloyd's Trickster Treats and Jubileena's Sprinkle Spikes while successfully targeting the latter with his own power-up, Chocolate Peanut Pelters. His last-minute spin-out from Minty's surprise attack of Syrup Slick had caused him to drop to fourth place, allowing Minty and Taffyta to draw ahead of him and claim second and third respectively. Rancis didn't mind; his gold coin was not wasted and he was a playable character for tomorrow's quarter alerts. Overall, tonight's race had been the usual business with nothing weird or insane to report…except for one instance that was now hovering uncomfortably in his mind:

While zipping through Gumball Gorge near the beginning, he had missed out on the perfect chance to blast Candlehead with his last remaining Sweet Seeker. Rancis had never given up any chance to climb higher in the race position before and this memory was giving him the unpleasant feeling of a solid stone of rock candy sitting in the pit of his stomach the more he thought about it. Most unusual behavior on his part and what motive had caused him to decide not to hit the trigger button when he had a clear shot, he couldn't understand. The inner vocals of his conscious were practically barking at him in a way that would make his adoptive mother proud.

_Now what in Reece's name was THAT, Fluggerbutter? Get your pretty head out of the yeast! You've never thought twice before shooting anyone with a Sweet Seeker before…it's not like she would have gotten hurt or anything!_

This was perfectly true; no power-up or item picked up in the game was designed to hurt any of the racers. And if by any unlikely chance someone did perish, he or she would just regenerate in two seconds tops, granted the brief time spent doing that and recovering would guarantee a drop down the leader board. While Rancis knew this rule well, some unknown force from within had forbidden him to attack Candlehead.

After removing his helmet, he shook his head briefly, giving his swirly blond hair a flick to the side, immediately followed by running his hand over it, smoothing it out. Though no longer his top priority, Rancis still held high regards for his appearance and these instinctive actions were nothing more than a habit really.

He took a moment to pause before reaching for his peanut butter cup hat. Headgear-free, he rubbed his face wearily and let out a soft moan, not from his fourth-place status or even his exhaustion from the race, but from that strange impulse that had held him back from taking down Candlehead. He didn't know why; he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Had he been afraid to hear her scream in shock as the girls normally did when they got hit by an attack power-up? He never liked seeing them upset. Or had he been worried that she would think less of him if he had blasted her? Surely not. Attacks were a major part of racing. But then, Candlehead hadn't sent any attacks his way tonight either.

He was still mulling over these confusing thoughts as he climbed out of the kart and made his way to the crowd that had gathered before the winner's podium, upon which Swizzle, Minty, and Taffyta were already standing. Swizzle looked especially pleased; it had been a long time since he had won a race. Perhaps his inner desires to win had generated enough fuel to battle his very best tonight and rise out on top. Rancis could relate, for he understood the energy drive that presented itself upon the wish of winning a _Sugar Rush _cup.

While the power-ups were free for all to use, every racer was coded with a special core ability that granted a specific and powerful advantage in the game, which was the central deciding factor for players when selecting their racer. Exclusive to each avatar, these unique skills ranged from speed and agility to power-up strength and track handling. Swizzle, for example, was coded to handle the best on the tight curves of the racetrack, drifting along the turns with extreme speed and elegance mixed as one, much was his interpretation of life as a daredevil. That seemed to have played an advantage today, as he had tackled the slippery curves of the frosty Rainbow Road with ease while many of his colleagues spun out. Vanellope had been a special case; she had been the only racer who had not seemed to have been programmed with a coded ability, though the players had simply viewed her glitch as a teleportation power which had proven to be quite popular. Rancis himself had best performance on most terrain with the exception of the jumps; his beloved Kit Kart just wasn't able to glide in the air no matter how much he modified it. It was the largest, most heavily-built of all the karts after all and shone the best while on solid ground. It wasn't designed with aerodynamics in mind and thus couldn't use the jumps to 'leap' ahead of the competition…that was Adorabeezle's specialty.

Rancis merged with the cheering crowd of candy folk and racers and joined in with the acclamation as Sour Bill handed Swizzle a gleaming trophy, accompanied by confetti shooting into the air and the _Sugar Rush _theme playing from the racetrack's megaphones. By the look on the Swizzle's face, you could tell he was pretty darn proud of his sweet victory. To his left, Minty was congratulating him with a notable gleam of admiration in her eye, which Rancis knew wasn't completely due to Swizzle's hard-earned accomplishment. The two green-haired racers had grown very close over the last few years since Turbo's demise. With Swizzle's love for being the extreme risktaker of the group and Minty being the quick-thinking tomboy possessing a strong craving for life on the fast lane complete with life-defining stunts, it wasn't completely unexpected that they both expressed a mutual – and obvious – awe for the other.

To Swizzle's right, Taffyta was also applauding for him. Quite the bizarre image, as everyone in _Sugar Rush _knew perfectly well that the strawberry-themed girl would be breathing smoke through gritted teeth upon the prospect of not standing on the podium block engraved with the gold-plated 1…that is _before_ her short duration under Calhoun and Felix's care. In an amazing and shockingly quick transformation, Taffyta now valued her relationships with her friends more than winning, an attitude that Rancis (and _everyone_) was extremely grateful for. He too cared far more about his friendships with his buddies than coming in first, though he still gave his greatest effort. Their parents had taught them well. Speaking of Mom and Dad, there they were, giving their son and daughters a big group hug, having stopped by to watch them all race. Rancis smiled at this sight, something he would certainly never have done six years ago.

Deciding that there would be time to congratulate Swizz in person later, he headed back towards the track to his waiting kart. He had only left earshot of the crowd when he felt a fist punch him lightly on the shoulder. He turned around to face his new companion.

"Yo, Rance!"

"S'up, Gloyd."

"Nice racing out there, man," the Halloween-themed boy said, thumping his friend on the back. "Hey, listen, Mom's giving Swizz a little celebratory shooting rally at her game, and we're all going! You in?"

Rancis smiled at the offer. "Maybe next time, buddy. I actually have plans for tonight."

Gloyd looked at him curiously; Rancis didn't usually pass up the chance to use _Hero's Duty_'s super-ion blasters."Plans? You gonna hang out at The Sweet Spot? Bro, you know you SUCK at karaoke."

The Sweet Spot was the village lounge where the kids typically gathered after a long day of races. Decked with comfy chairs, loud music, sugary drinks, and a karaoke machine, it was the perfect place to unwind. Although, ever since Calhoun had introduced her children to her game and added their code to secure their protection, their choice of evening activities after work had expanded dramatically. And Gloyd was right: no matter how hard he tried, Rancis just could not carry a tune.

Rancis rolled his eyes indignantly. "Yeah, thanks for that, Gloyd. No, I'm taking Candlehead around to explore all those places Vanellope took me to find parts for the RV1."

The amused grin on Gloyd's face disappeared in a flash and was replaced with a disbelieving stare. "Seriously? You'd rather give up shooting Cy-Bug guts to hang out with _Candlehead_? I think that peanut butter cup hat is melting into your brain."

He said the girl's name like she was a disease, or even Vanellope back when they all used to hate her. Of course, Rancis knew Gloyd didn't see Candlehead like that at all, but he still did not take that remark lightly. "Shut up, Gloyd. She's a lot cooler than you think. I'll see you later."

Gloyd watched him leave and shrugged before turning on his heel to head back to the award ceremony. Rancis thought he heard him mutter something to himself before they were out of earshot of each other; he couldn't quite make it out over all the noise, but it sounded a lot like "Love is weird."

**A few minutes ago:**

Candlehead had parked the Ice Screamer next to the Kit Kart. After taking part in Swizzle, Minty and Taffyta's little celebration, she had strolled back to her automobile of cake and ice cream to wait for Rancis. Her eyes glanced up at the brightly-lit leader-board jumbotron and scanned it until they landed upon the image of her face next to the number 8. Eighth place wasn't exactly a great status position, rather ironic since her special ability was acceleration boosts, but she was still a playable character for tomorrow's games nonetheless, and for that, she found reason to smile. That being said, her kart definitely needed some work, most pointedly, a new engine. Hers had just about reached its racing limit, only able to run at medium high speeds and certainly not the top speed her fans associated her to reach. Feeling that same anxiety from before clash her mind, she once again hoped that the players wouldn't notice too badly. Looking away from the bright screen towards the crowd, the sight of Rancis heading her way broke her from her troubles and she smiled instantly.

"Hey, Candlehead," he greeted with a salute-like gesture when he reached her.

"Hi, Rancis!" she said cheerfully, pulling him into a quick hug. Rancis blushed in slight embarrassment, secretly thankful that nearly everyone was crowding around the winner's podium instead of watching them. Only the marshmallow pit techs were present around here, cleaning up the racetrack for tomorrow.

"So, you, uh…wanna get going?" he asked her, trying to maintain his suave demeanor when she let go of him.

"I sure am!" she sang as she nodded earnestly, her pigtails swinging about. She jumped into her kart and fired it up, the engine squeaking loudly as flames shot out of the exhaust candles. Rancis smiled as he exchanged his hat for his racing helmet before starting his own kart's ignition. The Kit Kart let out that thunderously-deep rumble that he adored so much for mimicking that of a mighty dragon's breathing.

"It's going to be a long drive! Just follow me!" he called over the sounds of his chocolate cruiser, taking lead down the road with Candlehead in hot pursuit. The two friends left the award ceremony behind and disappeared down the track, leaving nothing but two clouds of powdered sugar dust that quickly settled everywhere. Several of the marshmallow employees frowned reproachfully as they watched their tidy work become reduced to a dusty, disorderly mess once more before picking up their brooms and starting over.

The only other _Sugar Rush _citizen who had noticed the kids as they had disappeared was Taffyta. "Where are they going in such a rush?" she mumbled to herself.

"Taffyta! You coming, soldier?" Calhoun called out to her in a commanding voice, notably laced with a motherly tone. Felix and the other racers were already filing out towards the game's exit while the crowds of fans were also dispersing.

"Coming, Mom!" she responded as she quickly ran to catch up with the group for what promised to be a thrilling, death-defining shooting rally.


	2. Expedition

**Part 2 – Expedition**

Down Lollipop Lane and through the Candy Cane Forest. Over cinnamon rolling hills and under many decorative arches of massive donuts. Then a quick detour down the icy tracks of Soft Serve Speedway, passing by the frozen molasses slopes that Adorabeezle loved to ski down in her free time. A left turn at the vast fields of jelly beans and a right turn at the cherry farms where Jubileena picked the tiny fruits of red for her world-famous pies. The two speedy go-karts of peanut butter cups and birthday cake zipped down the candy-trimmed road, eventually turning off the familiar tracks of their village and onto the more disused backroads. Further away from civilization they went and deeper into the heart of their candy-enriched world, seeing even more impressive confectionery sights in their travels. It truly was amazing how expansive _Sugar Rush _really was, practically unnecessary since the racetracks and the kart factory were the only places that the arcade players were able to see, unless they were skilled enough to unlock bonus levels with secret tracks, but that hadn't happened for years. Despite living here all their lives, the racers themselves very rarely ventured outside their designated playing arenas and thus had never seen these other environments; the whereabouts of any hidden tracks remained unknown even to them. Rancis could only guess that living as a lonely misfit for 15 years had granted Vanellope more than enough time to explore all the unrevealed areas that the game had to offer, for she had known exactly where to take him on their hunt for his kart parts. That had been his first experience with these unique places and he couldn't wait to show them all to Candlehead.

As for Candlehead, she was bouncing upon her seat as they drove along, partly from the bumpy road embedded with sprinkles and partly from her utmost excitement that was building up by the minute. She had no idea where Rancis was taking her, but she was ecstatic nonetheless. She always loved trying new things. And besides, if Rancis was with her, she was all over it.

The Rocky Road that they were currently travelling on was wider than a single lane, but not wide enough for the Kit Kart and the Ice Screamer to travel alongside each other, as they were the widest karts of the fleet. So Candlehead drove behind Rancis; logically so, since he was leading her to locations she had never been to before. Now in less-familiar territory, they opted to slow their speed to a leisurely cruise. For all of the sugar-fueled, wild-spirited racers, this was almost unheard of, for the word 'drive' was pretty much reserved for high-speed races or perhaps the quick commute between the racetracks and Racers' Ave. Rancis could not remember the last time he had driven at such a simple relaxed pace, not that he was complaining. He found it rather soothing.

Despite their reduced speed, he couldn't help but notice the unusually slow pace Candlehead was driving at behind him. It hailed a callback to his mind that she had placed eighth in tonight's roster race, which surprised him more. The girl was one of the best racers to choose from in terms of speed. Her flaming hot-rod cake kart was designed for acceleration boosts and, despite being a bit ditzy and light-headed, Candlehead was actually fierce competition on the road, though not quite the racing demon like Taffyta. Rancis wanted to ask her about this, but didn't want to hurt her feelings. He decided to bring it up later. Right now, they were approaching their first destination: the Stale Cake Depot.

Somewhere in the back of his smooth-thinking mind, he had known immediately that Candlehead would love this place. With birthday treats being her central theme, she knew more than anyone that no birthday would be complete without cake. It was one of her four biggest passions, the others being candles, racing, and spending time with her friends. They parked near the exit and watched the bakers through the windows of the tall pastry building, who were busily refining and packaging cakes of all kinds, while also tossing various pieces of stale cake, ranging from minuscule to kart-sized, out the back door. The moment she laid eyes on all the free cake that was heaped in piles for the candy birds to pick at, Candlehead completely lost it and pounced. She didn't seem to care that these were labeled as 'stale'.

Thankfully, nothing in _Sugar Rush _had an expiry date; every piece of candy and sweet was programmed to stay fresh. That simple fact alone made the whole existence of the Stale Cake Depot highly questionable, but heck…if it made Candlehead this happy, then by golly Rancis thanked the designers of _Sugar Rush _for including such a facility. By the time he caught up to her, her mouth was stuffed with cake of every flavour, and icing smeared across her face. Truly a ridiculous, yet adorable sight.

"Enjoying a little snack, are we?" he teased, swiping a chunk of chocolate cake for himself. She grinned at him, her cheeks bulging.

"Thish ish the besh place ever!" she garbled, sending crumbs flying everywhere. Her innocence and carefree nature couldn't help but make Rancis laugh. _Lovable little weirdo,_ he thought to himself.

* * *

It took much persuasion to get Candlehead to leave the Depot. There were still more places to see before the arcade opened! He led the way to Cereal Box Canyon next, a deep, deep gorge teaming with gigantic cereal boxes of all brands that bordered a large rushing river of 2% milk. It was an amazing sight and Candlehead just had to sit for a while on top of the 90 ft. box of Frosted Flakes to take it all in. In complete contrast to her wild eating frenzy at the cake depot, she was just the opposite here, calm and silent as she sat perfectly still, soaking in the sights and sounds that engulfed her. Wordlessly, Rancis took a seat next to her, but didn't pay too much attention to the scenery of towering boxes and rushing milky river as much as he focused on the girl seated beside him, studying her profile carefully with side-glances: the way her pigtails and little curtain of green hair swayed in the breeze, her clear shining skin, and the candle that glowed brightly on her pink-frosted hat. Good thing her eyes were closed, otherwise she would have caught him gazing at her. Rancis then wondered if maybe he could ask her now why she had been driving so slow as of late, but once again, decided against this. He didn't want to spoil the state of tranquility that was washed over her.

The brightly sunlit night passed quickly as Rancis and Candlehead continued to explore _Sugar Rush_'s uncharted sweet lands together. The sugar-coated vanilla cake road they were driving on soon merged into a rugged chocolatey fudge lane that led them straight to the Fudge Nugget Quarry, where Vanellope had dug up a fudge-bucket seat for Rancis in one of the mineshafts. Once there, the kids scrambled through the maze of pitch-black mines using Candlehead's candle as their only source of light, howling and laughing like ghosts all the way. Since she had the light, Candlehead took lead down the deep dark passageways, grasping Rancis' hand the whole time to make sure he kept up with her and her light, which produced shape-shifting shadows that danced along the fudgy walls of the tunnels. It was a miracle that they didn't cause a cave-in and become buried in fudge with all the noise and disturbances they made in there.

A massive cookie valley was their next destination, where they took turns spinning each other on the perfectly round cookies until they got dizzy. Afterwards, they visited the Chocolate Spring Fields where Rancis had picked up the perfect shock-olate absorbers for the RV1. And just like Vanellope, Candlehead became lost in a chaotic haze of wild bouncing with two springs attached to her feet.

Rancis was a boy of many ideas, even in the King Candy era. Most of his brilliant schemes usually revolved around finding ways to boost his racing technique or improve his appearance to the public. This however, was the first time he had come up with an idea that centered on bringing pleasure and joy to someone other than himself, and just by observing Candlehead's laughing face as they visited each new location that he brought her too, it would be safe to say by this point that this idea was definitely one of his best ones yet. The young racers had the time of their lives.

It seemed that the life of a go-kart driver wasn't all about being in your kart and racing for the win. Rancis had only recently begun to realize this; he couldn't remember the last time he had had this much fun off the track.

Upon arrival at their second-to-last destination, Rancis wondered if perhaps he should reconsider his initial belief that the Cake Depot was Candlehead's favourite visit of all the places they had seen so far. Within minutes of setting foot in Forest Gummy, around a dozen gummy bears, no taller than their legs, crowded around the newcomers to their home, and Candlehead reacted exactly as you could imagine her to.

"They're so _cute!_" she squealed over and over as she knelt down to hug as many little bears as she could scoop up in her arms at one time, each one eager to get a bearhug. Nothing could suppress her giggles as she fell onto her back, letting the gummy creatures crawl all over her. "I wanna take them home and live with them forever and ever!"

Rancis couldn't hold back the smile that spread upon his face as he watched his friend relish over the colourful bears, snuggling them to her body. He bent down and picked a green one up, letting it hug his chest as he sat down next to her. "Had enough yet?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"No way," she giggled. "I'm never going to leave!" Her arms were full of gummy bears.

* * *

Another hour passed before he managed to convince her to leave, albeit with much reluctance from the girl. They trekked the short distance out of the forest towards the clearing where they had parked. Rancis walked, while Candlehead skipped, her arms held out slightly as if she were about to gracefully take flight at any second. The boy stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eyes every few minutes just to witness her sweetly innocent nature.

"So where are we going next?" she asked him eagerly when they reached their karts. She hopped onto a chocolate yule log and twirled around, her skirt flaring out like a little fan. Rancis clambered on top of the Kit Kart's hood and watched her for a brief moment before speaking.

"I'll tell you in a minute. Right now, can I ask you something?" He asked this with a slight glow of hesitation.

"Sure, what's up?" she asked, still spinning about.

Rancis stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, wanting to be absolutely clear. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I've noticed that you've been driving a little on the slow side lately. And you're one of the fastest racers in the game. Everything alright with your kart?"

Candlehead stopped twirling and gave him a small downcast smile from her perch. "You noticed, huh?" She sighed when he nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I think my engine is dying. I probably need a new one, but I don't have enough money."

There was disappointment laced in her voice, and rightfully so. Without a fast go-kart, what good was a racer to the players during gameplay?

The birthday-themed girl stepped down from the log and walked over to her kart, absent-mindedly dipping her finger into the cake's pink icing and popping into her mouth. Now _that_ just weirded him out. She was literally eating away at her own kart which was already showing signs of poor performance.

"I've thought about asking Gloyd to sneak an engine for me from the bakery, but I don't want to get him in trouble. I just hope the players don't notice too badly and stop choosing me," she explained sadly. She dipped her finger in again. "Maybe I can find one at the junkyard…Vanellope found some nice stuff there…"

The mental image of a bedraggled, miserable Candlehead searching hopelessly through the trash heaps for kart pieces stabbed Rancis' mind and he quickly shook that depressing thought clean out. "Well, you're in luck, Candlehead, 'cuz I know where we can get you a new engine for free!"

She stopped licking her finger abruptly. "Where?"

"Our last place to visit tonight: The Engine Block Ranch. C'mon, let's go! And stop eating your kart, you need that."

The thundering sounds of two individual engines broke Forest Gummy's peaceful silence as the racers took off once more.


	3. Muddy Buddies

**Part 3 – Muddy Buddies**

The Engine Block Ranch was actually situated closer to their village than the other hot spots of Rancis and Candlehead's _Sugar Rush _tour, yet far enough that no one except for Vanellope, and later Rancis, had known about its existence (as far as Rancis knew). The two friends were homeward bound on their way to the Ranch, using a shortcut that Rancis had remembered that Vanellope had used when she first drove him out here.

Their journey took them along Sandy Candy beach, a beautiful setting of golden-brown sugar sand glistening in the sun with a roaring ocean of blue Kool-Aid that sent waves crashing against the rock candy, and schools of Swedish Fish that leapt carefree in graceful arcs. The road, paved with smooth strawberry cheesecake filling, was much wider than the bumpy backroads they had used to get all the way out here, meaning that Candlehead could drive alongside Rancis for the first time that night. They continued cruising at a gentle leisurely pace, something that both kids had found to be very enjoyable by this point. With a simple speed and no worries clouding his mind, Rancis took the opportunity to observe his companion driving beside him. During gameplay, he was obviously too focused on the actual racing to notice his fellow-racers, so this was a bit of a first for him. He watched the flames rising out of the Ice Screamer's exhaust candles, licking at the air with sparks and crackling fizzes. His eyes trailed down to the little flame on the red wax candle on Candlehead's icing frosted helmet, wondering how on earth it was able to stay alight in the extreme turbulence it felt when she raced. It was amazing how a girl as gentle and sweet as Candlehead could be so enthralled by fire. Then he looked at Candlehead herself. With her little pigtails flapping in the breeze and the way she clutched the steering wheel with a pretty smile that highlighted excitement and joy, she just looked so cheerful.

He felt a strange, undefined feeling engulf him from the inside. He didn't know what it was and further couldn't explain it. But he could easily list off the things that happened whenever he felt this way, what with his clammy hands, rapidly thumping heart, and the way his sugar-coated mind seemed to freeze and forcefully push anything unrelated out of the way being notable characteristics of this feeling. Even more crazy than this, whatever it was, he liked it; he felt good even with this unknown twinge knotting up inside him as he looked over at the girl. Just seeing his friend so happy…made Rancis feel happy too.

Suddenly, Candlehead twisted her head to the side and looked at him. In blind panic, Rancis quickly averted his eyes back to the road, blushing and hoping she hadn't caught him staring at her like a weirdo. But when he hazarded another glance towards her, she was still looking at him, her smile still present. She even gave him a little wave. So, he offered his own smile and a wave back.

Close call.

At last, they reached the outskirts of the ranch. Upon parking his kart, Rancis pulled his helmet off and shook his head briefly, giving his swirly blond hair a headshake to the side and running his hand over it, like he always did. He was just sliding his hat on when he saw Candlehead's large sparkling eyes gazing at him from her kart with her hands under her chin as if he was the most interesting person in the world.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Nothing," she said with an innocent grin. He watched her jump out of her kart and start skipping merrily towards the ranch entrance. Rancis rolled his eyes. _Girls,_ he thought to himself, though he couldn't help but feel a little pleased. He climbed out of the driver's seat, but before running to catch up with her, he opened up a secret panel at the front of his kart and pulled out a long coil of thick red licorice with a large noose on one end. It was coated in a substance that gave it a glossy shine. Then, after a brief pause while he made absolute certain that Candlehead wasn't watching him, he decided to give into the absurd idea that had been developing since he saw her do it…he reached down and dipped his finger with the lightest of all dabs into the peanut butter filling of the Kit Kart, subsequently sticking it into his mouth. It tasted surprisingly good.

He wondered if there was even a slim chance in this world that there would ever be an appropriate time to tell someone that he had just eaten a fragment of his own kart.

With the coil of licorice looped around his shoulder and the taste of peanut butter still on his tongue, Rancis joined the girl, who was peering over the salted pretzel fence bordering the ranch. Upon this great expanse of dusty sugar terrain, candy cacti stood tall and proud, and cotton floss tumble weeds rolled lazily past like nobody's business. But the key features of them all were the living blocks of engine candy. These chunky little engine blocks roamed here, there, and everywhere; some stood perfectly still as they grazed, while others bounced around wildly. Candlehead looked positively immersed by these funny creatures.

"You mean I get to have one?" she asked him hopefully.

"Yep. You just have to catch one first. Here, you'll need this." He held up the licorice rope.

"What's that?"

"This is Licorice Lasso," he explained. "It's a new power-up I made for racing. You know, to grab other karts and let them pull me for a short period of time. At least that's what I'm hoping it can do. I've never used it before, but I dipped it in the taffy lake…twice a day for a week, so I know this stuff is super strong. That's why it's perfect for these wild engines."

Candlehead's eyes widened as she registered what he was saying. "Wait, you're giving me your power-up? Oh, Rancis, you don't need to do that…"

Rancis shrugged. "No biggie. I'll take it back when you're done. Besides, these guys have a lot of pep. Trust me, you _really_ need to hold them down and tire them out before you can take one home."

He held out the lasso to her. She hesitated before taking it into her hands, feeling rather touched that Rancis was offering her his own hand-made power-up just so she could get herself a new engine. Looking into his eyes, she smiled sweetly, letting gratefulness wash over. "Thank you," she whispered, her cheeks blushing hotly.

Maybe it was his imagination, but Rancis could swear near certainty that he had seen it in the brief moment when it had happened: the little flame on her hat had let off a subtle flash, making it glow just a little bit brighter than before. He didn't know she could do that. Shaking the thought out, he put on his trademark 'cool-kid' smile, which intensified her blush. "No probs," he said valiantly. He then looked out at the ranch and its inhabitants. "Well, go ahead and pick one out."

Candlehead joined his gaze out onto the open ranch and quickly noticed one large engine block that was sprinting faster than the rest and squeaking loudly, as if it were laughing at the others for being slower. "How 'bout that one?" she asked eagerly. "He looks the most energetic!"

"Looks good to me! I'll let you do the honours."

"Yay!" she cheered as she climbed over the fence and slowly approached her chosen engine block. She was grasping the middle of taffified lasso tightly, leaving a good chunk of length on both ends. Knowing that her friend had dedicated such hard work to make this, she would have to take extra care of it.

Behind her, Rancis sat on the top of the fence to watch. But if he had known what was going to happen next, he probably would have offered to lend Candlehead a hand first, or perhaps suggested picking a different engine. The one that she had chosen was indeed the engine block with the most energy and spirit of the herd, not to mention the largest and strongest too. The good news was that the girl managed to lasso it on her first try. The bad news was what happened immediately afterwards. The moment it felt contact of a foreign twine wrap tightly around its body, the engine block went completely berserk and, in its frantic rush to get away, took off with a tremendous burst of speed that not only took the lasso with it, but Candlehead as well. Yanked off her feet, she became a rag doll, dragged wildly all over the dusty ground, whipping back and forth on the lasso as she tried with vain attempts to slow down, only to be forced to follow the path of the speedy engine, knocking into every obstacle as she went spiraling out of control.

"Rancis, help me!" she cried out as rock candy pelted her face. But Rancis had already leapt off the fence to come to her rescue. "Hang on, Candles!" he called as he rushed to the end of the licorice lying idly where she had been standing moments ago. He grabbed it before it could snap away…only to be jerked off his feet and thrown down to the ground just like its previous holder, and dragged along for the ride. _Not so smooth, Fluggerbutter,_ was his only thought as he crashed against the bumpy soil.

The engine block was demonstrating incredible strength and even more incredible resistance. It tore wildly down the ranch, scattering several of the other engines in its crazed journey to shake off its two riders. Gripping the rope hard, Rancis somehow managed to climb his way further up the licorice until he reached her. He held on to Candlehead tightly and she twisted her head to look at him, as if surprised that he was there.

"Oh! Hi, Rancis!" she said cheerfully as if this was completely normal.

"Let go of the lasso!" he yelled at her. But for some reason, she wouldn't. She just held on while he held her; the engine still engaged in a mad dash for freedom, racing further into the ranch, through a broken gap in the fence, and straight into the neighbouring chocolate swamp.

"How do we stop?!" shrieked Candlehead as they bounced violently along the new terrain.

"I'll think of something!" was his frantic response.

Despite being pulled and scrapped along the ground, Candlehead smiled. _Rancis is always thinking_, she thought happily before she was smacked in the face by a Swedish Berry bush.

Rancis was certainly right about his Licorice Lasso; it _was _super strong. The taffy-fused rope held firm without showing any signs of snapping apart, which actually would have been welcome since Candlehead _still _refused to let it go for whatever reason. As they were dragged relentlessly through the swamp's chocolatey soil, the engine suddenly charged across a very thick candy cane tree trunk that crossed over a large chocolate bog like a striped bridge. The sprinting engine block and its two passengers reached as far as the trunk's centre before the nature of its double-striped decoration kicked in, causing the entire bridge to vanish in thin air. All three went free-falling down for a good second before landing with an impressive SPLAT in a pool of gooey milk-chocolate mud. The engine block was first to recover; it wriggled free from the noose, let out an offended screech at its would-be captors, then slogged out of the muck in the direction of the ranch.

The kids recovered shortly after it disappeared from sight. Rancis spat out a mouthful and wiped his eyes before standing up waist-deep in the sticky chocolate goo. Instantly, the air was filled with an annoyingly high-pitched noise; looking up, he saw vines of Laffy Taffy roaring with laughter at the mess that he and Candlehead were now in. Ignoring them, he turned his attention to the licorice rope lying in the mud beside him and smiled wearily. Without a single rip or tear in its taffified coat, at least he could have confidence in the power-up's durability now. "Well, I guess that's how we stop," he chuckled to Candlehead. He glanced over at the girl who had landed a few feet ahead of him and immediately felt every ounce of circulating blood in his candy heart ground to a deathly halt that made him want to pass out. _Oh, fudge._

The mud had splashed her candle out.

Everyone who ever lived in _Sugar Rush _knew that the burning flame on that candle was the most important thing to Candlehead and anyone who tried to sabotage it was in for a difficult time. She was very proud of it and it brought her intense joy for reasons that no one understood, but thought it better not to ask. She had been devastated when her helmet's candle had snapped in two after landing in a giant cupcake, showing more concern for it than her crashed Ice Screamer. And she had been pretty upset when Swizzle had swiped the candle from her beanie and stood on Fix-It Felix's chair to raise it high above her while she desperately tried to reach for it, taunting her while she fired rude insults back at him. The resulting show had given the other kids something to witness for a short while, and once Calhoun had given Swizzle a good scolding and the candle was returned to her head, she had calmed down. However, it had been one of the few times they had really seen Candlehead angry.

Being the racer of the family with the purest heart, Candlehead was never one to hold a grudge and was extremely forgiving. She had forgiven Swizzle almost immediately. But even so, who in the right mind would want to deliberately upset Candlehead? Swizz should have known better.

Rancis stared with dismay at the girl's beloved candle and mentally kicked himself for ruining everything. _Please not the candle…ANYTHING but the candle._ He had to do something before Candlehead burst into a fit of tears or decided to end their friendship right there. "Candlehead, I'm…I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…I mean…I didn't know…"

But whatever apology or explanation that was struggling to form out of his terrified mind was lost when Candlehead opened her mouth…and started giggling.

Definitely not the reaction he had been expecting…but she wasn't crying.

Her giggles turned to boisterous laughter, which flat out confused him. "What are you laughing at?"

"Your face!" she burst out, doubling over in a fit of laughs. "You look so funny!"

Rancis couldn't see his own face, but a quick scan over himself made him realize that he was covered in a thick coat of the chocolate glop, probably looking pretty ridiculous. Only then did he get a good look at Candlehead, who was absolutely splattered from head to toe. "So do you!" he said, not even trying to hold back his own laughter.

They were both laughing now, which relieved Rancis to no end that she wasn't bawling about her snuffed out candle, at least not at the moment. His laughter stopped abruptly when he was hit square in the face with a sticky chocolate mass. Candlehead had thrown a sloppy ball of mud at him! So, he playfully pitched a handful back at her, hitting her in the chest. She yelped in surprise before laughing and firing back. Without a care in the world, they went back and forth, throwing the mud at each other, dodging, laughing, and generally just having a good time. The amused laughter from the Laffy Taffy intensified, adding to their fun.

Rancis piled up a large mudball in both hands, but before he could turn around to fling it at his opponent, he was tackled from behind and fell belly-down into the chocolate; Candlehead had launched herself onto him, and now they were playfully wrestling and rolling in the sweet squishy mud, giggling all the way. Candlehead pinned him down into the muck with a devilish grin, only for Rancis to surprise her by scooping her up into his arms bridal-style, making her squeal with delight and squirm about in half-hearted attempts to escape, only to give up upon realizing that they were futile and she was now trapped in his grasp. Not that she minded. She resigned to simply letting him carry her while she laughed. A chime-like laughter that seemed to sing in his ears and was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. After sharing a healthy dosage of it, they managed to calm down, and for a brief moment, they saw only each other as he held her closely in his arms. She felt surprisingly light, he thought, as silly sweet smiles played across their chocolate-smeared faces. Nothing could detach them from their little world of fun that involved just the two of them playing in the middle of a chocolate bog…

"HEY! What in sugar's name are you two _doing?!"_

Well, except maybe that.

The fun was over and the Laffy Taffy became silent as a loud, scathing voice caused the two racers to jump apart. Standing on a ledge hanging over the bog was Taffyta Muttonfudge, staring at them with disbelieving eyes, her mouth wide open, hands raised slightly, and a most disapproving look on her face. She didn't have to explain what she was thinking right now; seeing two professional _Sugar Rush _racers playing in a muddy pool was probably the most undignified sight to her eyes.

There was an awkward silence before Candlehead broke it. "We're having fun!"

"_Fun?"_ You call that fun? It looks like you're acting like a bunch of kids!"

Rancis frowned. "We _are_ kids, Taffyta," he countered, albeit half-heartedly. Unlike Candlehead, he was starting to feel a little embarrassed to be caught like this.

The strawberry hard-candy girl rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean you have to act like one. Come on, you guys, we have standards to keep!"

Now, Taffyta's drastic transformation thanks to Felix and Calhoun had helped her to adopt a kinder and much more friendly personality, though she still tended to be a little grumpy and arrogant at times. She was very fond of both Rancis and Candlehead, yet there was still a glow of her old snooty reputation lingering inside that was by no means toxic, but simply was who she was. There were still some limits to how soft she would be. And apparently, rolling around in the mud like a couple of weirdos reached beyond such a limit.

Candlehead spoke again. "Come join us, Taffyta. The chocolate's great!"

Taffyta snorted. "Give me a break, Candlehead. There's no way I'm doing that. I don't feel like being a weirdo today. And besides, do you know how hard it is to get chocolate off this dress? WAHHHHH!"

Without warning, Taffyta went flying off the ledge before landing face-first in the mud with a noise not unlike _'spluck'_. The Laffy Taffy immediately burst into another round and even some nearby Snickers bars joined in with the guffaw. Rancis and Candlehead stared at the fallen Taffyta in shock before Rancis looked up and spotted Swizzle standing where Taffyta had been only a moment ago with his arms outstretched in front of him and a smug grin on his face. It quickly became clear what had just happened.

Taffyta lifted her face, dripping with mud and furious, before jumping to her feet and whipping around to face the offending party. "SWIZZLE!" she shrieked. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Nice ambush, Swizz," called Rancis, prompting Swizzle to strike a proud pose. He then leaned over the ledge to look down at the muddy girl he had just shoved off.

"Chill, Taffyta," he jeered. "Chocolate and strawberries go well together, don't you think?"

"Swizzle, so help me, you come down here right now and get what's coming for you!" she growled. Right away, Rancis knew she should have chosen her words more carefully.

"If you say so!" Swizzle saluted, before jumping gracefully off the ledge and ending with a belly flop right in front of her, splattering chocolate mud in all directions. Taffyta screamed as she unsuccessfully tried to block the splash. The moment Swizzle rose up from the muddy depths, she lunged at him, trying to wrestle him to the mud. But Swizzle, in 'The Swizz' fashion, simply remained cool and countered all her attacks, further enraging her. Both Rancis and Candlehead laughed out loud at this sight, then joined in with the mud brawl.

No one was really sure how or when the other racers showed up, but it would be a safe guess that all the noise they were making attracted them to their location. Before long, Snowanna, Jubileena, and Adorabeezle were in the mud too, quickly followed by Minty, Crumbelina, and Gloyd. All ten of the _Sugar Rush _racers were in the bog, covered in sticky, gooey chocolate, laughing and playfighting, pitching mud back and forth at each other in a wild frenzy. Miraculously, Taffyta seemingly forgot her anger with Swizzle and wound up taking part in the mud wars that were happening amongst them all, giggling and having fun like the rest. Maybe she was aware that she looked like a total weirdo right now, but in all honesty, she didn't seem to care anymore. All ten of them were weirdos. But all ten were happy weirdos. Mud has a strange way of bringing people together, especially when it's made of chocolate. Kids like chocolate.

* * *

Crumbelina DiCaramello may have been the richest racer in _Sugar Rush _now that Vanellope was no longer present, but she was not one of those stuck-up type of folk who let her wealth and luxuries stand in the way of leading a healthy lifestyle. It was true that she was one of the few who could afford the more expensive upgrades for her kart and owned a chocolate fondue hot tub in her lavish mansion that was the envy of all the racers. But rather than letting her grandeur give her reason to shun the others, she was very much the opposite, instead carrying the role of the big sister of the group. And rightfully so, for she was the most mature of the kids, a fact that even Taffyta had to admit. She was sensible and level-headed, choosing to think first, then act. Because of this, everyone gave her respect and she looked out for them as much as she could, which included inviting her friends to her mansion to enjoy her hot tub. Yes, she preferred to wear metallic bronze as opposed to her friends' bright, eye-catching colours, and specialized with exotic desserts that very few _Sugar Rush _citizens and the players had ever heard of, but that didn't mean she didn't live up to her bio of a down-and-dirty racer. She was certainly more sophisticated, but was still a kid at heart. And 'dirty' in this case meant slinging mud at her friends and having an awesome time frolicking around in a swamp of chocolate.

She had just pelted Minty with a carefully-aimed mud projectile when she cast eyes upon Candlehead, who was laughing loudly as she targeted Jubileena square in the face with her own chocolate mudball, then turning around to aim at Rancis. Crumbelina smiled. She loved Candlehead; she was like her little sister. Just watching her and Rancis fooling around together with smiles on their faces gave her an odd feeling that was ordinarily reserved for when she watched her Mom and Dad interacting with each other. While most of the racers were grossed out by the very obvious affection between their parents, Crumbelina rather liked it. It seemed to give her a warm, special feeling inside, one she could not describe with words. She felt this strange sensation again as she watched Candlehead playing with Rancis and wondered if she was the only one aware of the way Candlehead kept looking at him. It almost seemed like she had a little crush on Rancis, though Rancis had yet to notice. Whether this was true or not, the young Italian racer was pleased to see that they were clearly happy around each other and it would be interesting to see what could happen next now that all the racers were friends again after the infamous King Candy reign. But in any case, Crumbelina was secretly proud of her ability to pick up on these subtle signs; being the most mature had its perks. Her thoughts quickly turned back to Minty, who had just tossed a massive mudpie at the side of her unsuspecting head.


	4. Swizzle's Watchful Eye

**Part 4 – Swizzle's Watchful Eye**

As the sunny night wore on, the party eventually died down. As mysteriously as they had appeared, the racers began to disperse, probably off to use the last few hours before the arcade opened to get cleaned up and rebuild their energy. The daily races required their full attention, not to mention that chocolate covered avatars would make the players suspicious. One by one, the kids crawled out of the bog and went their separate ways until Rancis and Candlehead were the only ones left.

Standing on the ledge that Taffyta had found them from, they shook the worst of the mud off themselves (Rancis couldn't resist helping Candlehead brush off the globs stuck to her), but there was still a reasonable amount of the muck staining them that would have to be washed off properly. Though right now, Rancis felt exhausted and sore from all of tonight's excitement and escapades, and really wanted to rest for a bit before cleaning himself thoroughly. He spotted a nearby Fuzzy Peach tree a few feet away that looked inviting, and he motioned for Candlehead to follow him.

Just outside of the swamp boundaries, the tree stood on the top of a cliff that offered a fine view of the vast landscape that was only a taste of _Sugar Rush_'s massive game world. Mountains of chocolate truffles and towers of TooTall cake bordered the picture before them with swirls of rainbow sorbet painted upon much of the topography below. Great Caramel Lake separated the land in two, touching the edge of the Candy Cane Forest and Jujube Junction. They weren't too far from the village, for they could see the little buildings and streets in the distance. The sun was still shining as brightly as ever with fluffy pink clouds of cotton candy filling the pale orange sky. A dazzling sight all told, and it was the perfect spot to admire their home and just relax for a while.

Noting the position of the sun, Rancis estimated it to be about 5 o'clock in the morning, three hours before the arcade was due to open. Again, _Sugar Rush _had no night mode.

Tired, but content, Rancis sat down and leaned against the tree, with Candlehead sitting down next to him. The candle on her muddy hat remained extinguished, but she hadn't said a single word about it for the past hour or so while they had played in the bog.

"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on us doing any of that tonight…but I'm glad we did," the boy admitted.

Candlehead smiled breathlessly. "Me too! I forgot how much I love chocolate!"

Rancis smiled at that particular comment. But she obviously meant the chocolate mud, right?

"Good thing it was just mud we landed into," he said, trying to be casual. "If it was Nesquik Sand, you'd have to slap me silly to get the Laffy Taffy to save us like Mom and Dad."

The girl's smile vanished and now she looked horrified. "Oh, I couldn't do that…not to you, no way! You're…you're too nice!" Unable to bear the thought of hurting her friend, she started blubbering out excuses as to why she couldn't do it, blushing all the way.

Feeling amused and interested in what more she had to say about him, Rancis simply let her speak.

Looking flustered, Candlehead cleared her throat. "Um, why don't we try getting my engine tomorrow? I'm a little candied out right now."

In all honesty, Rancis wanted to agree, for he was too worn out to feel like doing anything at the moment. But he didn't feel good about deliberately letting Candlehead race tomorrow with a slow kart either. It didn't seem fair and could dangerously jeopardize both her stats as one of the game's fastest racers and her popularity with the players, not to mention possibly threatening to get their game unplugged again. But he felt so tired, and it didn't look like there were any other options. So he silently decided to not hit her with any power-ups to try to give her as much of a smooth race as he could.

"Yeah, good idea," he responded. Then he noticed his Licorice Lasso looped neatly around her arm. "Hey, why didn't you let go of the rope when we were being dragged by that engine block? We wouldn't have ended up in that swamp."

The girl smiled. "I didn't want to lose it," she said simply, as if that explained everything.

Rancis frowned. "Lose it? But there were so many other engines you could go back to pick…"

"Not the engine, silly," she interrupted. "The lasso. _Your _lasso. It's your power-up, and you lent it to me, so I had to make sure I could return it."

Rancis stared at her for a whole five seconds before confusion turned to understanding…and more confusion. "Wait, you didn't want to let go…because you didn't want to lose the _lasso?_"

She nodded brightly, letting her chocolate dipped-pigtails to swing around. Rancis just kept staring at her in a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

"But…come on Candles, I could have made a new one, you didn't have to save the rope…"

"But it's yours, Rancis," she pressed insistently. "And I would never forgive myself if I lost something that you lent me." She stated this as a matter-of-factly and held the chocolate-stained coil out to him. He took it and then spent a moment just looking at it, letting a growing revelation sink in. Candlehead had literally let herself get dragged all over the dusty ground getting scrapped and bashed mercilessly with all candy creation that littered the area and had fallen into a swampy chocolate bog just to save the thing he had let her borrow. This all made Rancis impressed, but also admiring of Candlehead's immense sense of devotion. It was something he really liked about her. He met her gaze and smiled a little.

"Um…thanks."

She grinned back. "Don't mention it. That's what friends do! And besides, I should be thanking _you._"

"For…for what?"

"For today, of course! This has been the best day ever. I had so much fun exploring _Sugar Rush_. I didn't know any of these places existed in our game until now. So…thanks!"

Rancis blushed, but he couldn't help feeling a little proud. However, he needed to make an important point absolutely clear and now seemed like the right time to do it. "Yeah, all those places we saw were pretty cool and stuff…but really, you were the one who made it all fun."

Candlehead tilted her head, feeling puzzled. "Me? Oh, I'm not really that fun. Jubileena's the fun one. Everyone thinks I'm klutzy and dumb, and…"

"Are you kidding me?" he interrupted strongly. "I don't see you that way at all. You're cool. You can turn anything into a game. You're tons of fun to hang out with because you find your own fun. Even a stick-in-the-fudge like me can loosen up thanks to you. And besides…I like hanging out with you."

It was Candlehead's turn to blush now. She let Rancis' words settle in the depths of her mind and felt her heart swell at the thought of being 'cool', something she had never considered herself to be, but Rancis seemed to think otherwise. She smiled bashfully at him. "You're not a stick-in-the-fudge anymore. You used to be. But now…I think you're really sweet. I like hanging out with you too."

Rancis smiled at her simple statement. "Thanks."

A moment of silence followed, during which they just looked at each other. Blue eyes met green eyes as they silently gazed at one another. No words seemed necessary to spell out what they were both thinking, and that was that they were thoroughly enjoying each other's company right now.

"Candles?"

"Hm?"

Rancis gulped, but he couldn't stay silent about it anymore. "When we dropped into the mud, your candle went out. But you didn't freak out like you usually do. Did you not notice?"

Candlehead giggled and took off her hat. They looked at the little red candle, still flameless and still muddy. But Candlehead broke her gaze on it to look at Rancis instead.

"Oh, trust me, I noticed the moment I recovered from the fall. And yeah, I was a little upset. But then I saw how funny you looked with mud all over your face and it made me forget all about it!"

Rancis smirked, remembering how Candlehead had looked like a sludge monster back there.

The girl set her hat down on the candy grass, leaving her head exposed as she continued. "But one thing that Mom and Dad taught me other than to eat my vegetables is that friends are way more important than candles. Candles don't last, but friends last forever. I still like my candles…a lot…but I love my friends more. Especially after today…our friendship is much more important to me than my candle, Rancis."

Simple words they were. But they were also words so full of warmth and sincerity that Rancis couldn't hold back the red tint of his cheeks even if he tried. To hear from Candlehead herself that _he _was more important than her candle was quite something else. He remembered how he had felt when Taffyta had told him the same thing (with 'winning' being said instead of 'candle'), and now he got to experience that warm feeling all over again, though this time it felt slightly different coming from Candlehead…in a nice way. He was so deep in thought that he almost missed what she said next.

"Thanks for saving me, Rancis."

He looked at her and frowned. "What do you mean? I didn't save you. That engine block pulled us both along, and if anything, that candy tree saved us when we crossed it."

"But you still tried to save me."

The boy stared at her. "But…nothing I did worked."

She shook her head, her pigtails swishing around. "That doesn't matter. You still tried, and that means a whole lot to me. You're my hero."

Her statement actually halted his tongue as his insides turned to butterflies. He tried to think of something cool to say, something that only the vain Rancis Fluggerbutter of _Sugar Rush_ would state, yet somehow, he could say nothing. Maybe it was the prospect of being Candlehead's hero. Or maybe it was the sight of her head without her hat. Her small curtain of flowing emerald hair was fluttering in the gentle breeze. He rarely saw Candlehead without any sort of headgear on, the most recent appearance being in the darkness of night with the dim moonlight barely illuminating half of her face. Now, here she was in full view with a head of beautiful hair that seemed to glow in the sun, despite having flecks of chocolate still stuck to it, though thanks to her hat, it was considerably cleaner than the rest of her. Alongside her rosy cheeks and large green eyes that gazed so intently into his own, Rancis just felt so mesmerized by her.

"What are you looking at, Rancis?"

Oops, mesmerized for too long. Rancis rubbed his arm nervously. "Uh, I was just…looking at your hair."

Candlehead blinked. "How come? You see it every day."

"Not like this," he pointed out. "You're always wearing your hat or your helmet. I never get to see your whole head."

She looked at him for a moment, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. "You…you like my hairstyle?"

"Yeah…I do. It's…pretty."

Candlehead went bright red and smiled fondly at his compliment. She gazed up at his golden swirl. "Well, I've always liked yours. It makes you look handsome."

Rancis looked at her. She had a cheesy smile all over her pretty face. He straightened his body slightly. "Heh, what can I say? The players love me. Gotta live up to my official bio somehow."

That made her laugh, which in turn made him feel proud inside. Then she spoke again.

"You still have a bit of chocolate on your face, y'know."

Before he could ask 'where', she leaned right into his face and delicately brushed her lips with the lightest contact upon the tip of his nose. The next thing he knew, she had resumed her place beside him and was licking the chocolate off her lips contently. "Mmm, sweet."

It was amazing how something that happened in less than a second could make his heart beat faster than every _Sugar Rush _race had during his entire racing career. He was still getting over the shock of it all by the time she had finished licking up her prize.

"You-you did that on purpose, didn't you?" he accused, trying unsuccessfully to sound annoyed, instead finding himself unable to hold back the giddy smile playing across his face, his mind a jumbled mess. All dignity was lost, but somehow it didn't seem too big of a deal.

"Maybe," she giggled, batting her long eyelashes at him. Then, deciding to take a chance, she shifted herself such that she could lay down and rest her head upon his chest. Rancis felt his cheeks heat up as she did this, but he didn't protest. He instead felt…comfortable with her settled upon him. Wordlessly, he followed suite, draping an arm around her shoulder to hold her protectively. Candlehead herself blushed at this gesture, and only took it as a sign to snuggle contently against him, wrapping both her arms around him.

Normally, Candlehead tended to be timid, sometimes even a little shy around the boys, but with Rancis, she felt neither of those feelings. Perhaps her constant exposure to him ever since their game had been plugged in was what allowed her to feel so at ease around him, even if they had only started to get to know each other in the last six years after purely behaving as Taffyta's cronies for a straight 15 years. But he also made her feel confident and unafraid to step out of her comfort zone, emotions that she never quite felt whenever she hung out with Gloyd or Swizzle. No one had ever called her 'cool' before and though she didn't know how, Rancis had a way of making her feel special. And it was weird. Rancis made her feel weird. A _good_ weird.

Staring out at the beautiful view before them, she felt her eyes starting to droop. She relaxed under Rancis' hold, his hand placed idly on her shoulder; it felt gentle and warm even through her pink jacket. Feeling safe with her good friend, and won over by content exhaustion of their grand night out, she let the steady rhythm of his heart lure her to sleep.

Briefly stunned by Candlehead's decision to lay herself down upon him, but feeling his mind regaining consciousness only a few moments afterwards, Rancis resigned to letting himself be pinned down by the girl's affectionate embrace. He kept his hold around her firm, yet gentle. And while his mind was nothing more than an array of rambling jumbled thoughts, his heart on the other hand sent a strange sensation coursing through his body following her peculiar actions. But then again, he had never been kissed on the nose before, either.

He rested his chin down upon her soft emerald hair, something he could never do if she were wearing her candle-topped beanie, lest he chose to burn himself. He decided to cherish this moment, taking in her scent, which was that of a chocolate birthday cake. By the steady sound of Candlehead's breathing, it would appear that she had fallen asleep. Rancis observed her carefully, watching her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath, and feeling that odd, yet pleasant feeling from before all over again. From some distance behind the tree, a strange, yet soothing melody sung by the Laffy Taffy was echoing from the swamp and out to the clearing, suddenly making him feel drowsy. Sitting there, under the peach tree in the warm sunshine, he supposed that he could use a nap too.

A memory surfaced his mind as he began to nod off, and it was that of Candlehead's face as they were dragged along by the runaway engine together; she had asked him how they were going to stop and he had told her that he would think of a way. Rancis remembered seeing her smile, despite their uncomfortable position. It was a smile of trust. Trust in him. She had held confidence in him that he would save them both. Even if he hadn't been successful in doing so, he had still tried. And for that, she thought he was her hero.

He would not be forgetting that smile anytime soon.

* * *

Rancis slowly opened his eyes. As the gears of his coded mind began to whir back into motion, he became aware that someone was watching his movements. He blinked in the bright sunlight and saw a blue-jacketed figure with dark green hair and a swirly hat decked in blue and green.

"Enjoying your nap, dude?"

He rubbed his eyes and finally made out Swizzle, sitting cross-legged a few feet in front of him. All the mud that had been previously coated him was gone, leaving him as clean as a whistle. Instead, there was an amused expression on his face.

"Oh, hey Swizz. Uh, how long were you sitting there?"

Swizzle shrugged. "I dunno, man. Maybe 20 minutes? You were here for longer though."

The peanut butter-themed boy yawned and looked down at Candlehead, who was still snoozing away on him. He looked back up at Swizzle, who was smirking in a most mischievous way. "Sure looks comfy," he remarked.

Rancis blushed. He could only imagine what the sight of him and Candlehead sleeping under a tree cuddled together with chocolate splattered clothes could be telling Swizzle's mind when he first found them. Hoping to distract him by changing the subject in a subtle way, Rancis spoke nonchalantly. "Congrats on the win, Swizz. How was _Hero's Duty_?"

That seemed to do the trick, because Swizzle grinned. "Dude, it was totally awesome! You should have been there. Tons of killer monster bugs were after our heads! I swooped in with the ol' _Swizz Tumble_ and blasted a huge one that was gonna eat Minty alive!"

That last part made Rancis chuckle. Of course, Swizzle would be the first to rush to Minty's aid. Even though Mom had added their codes into her life-threatening game and tomboy Minty was fully capable of shooting Cy-Bugs down herself, Swizzle just couldn't seem to pass up any chance he had to protect her. Or show off in front of her. Probably both.

"How are you and her doing by the way?" Rancis asked.

Swizzle smiled confidently, though Rancis noticed a blush forming on his darker skin. "Oh, you know…I win a race and she claps and cheers for 'The Swizz', jumping up and down while that bow in her hair flaps around…and that little dance she does when she gets excited…and the way she giggles when I smile at her…" Swizzle appeared to forget he was talking to Rancis and became lost in an image of the green-haired candy wrapper bow-wearing girl. Rancis watched him and smirked.

"Is that what you see in her?"

Swizzle snapped out of his trance and looked at his friend.

"Rancis, she's _amazing_ I tell you! She knows all these cool flips and somersaults that make her look like an acrobat. She skilled and smart, and she's the only gal around here who jumps at the chance to shoot Cy-Bugs at Mom's game. She even dares to top all my stunt records at Sour Patch Gulch! She breathes the life on the fast lane and knows what it's like to live to the _EXTREME!_"

"Swizz, keep it down," Rancis said hastily. He gestured to the sleeping Candlehead. "You're going to wake her."

Swizzle rolled his eyes. "Whatever. The point is, Mints really is 'the queen of the ice cream set in jewel.'" He paused for a moment, during which he let out a longing sigh. "I just hope she'll be _my _queen."

Rancis frowned. "Are you kidding me, man? Haven't you seen the way she looks at you, especially today? She practically _adores _you. And besides, there are three boys for her to choose from. She and I are just friends, and do you really think she'll go after Gloyd?"

Swizzle paused and then snickered. "Fair point, bro. Gloydster's the last one to get the message if any of the ladies are after him…though if you ask me, I think he's taken a liking to Crumbelina."

The idea of the sophisticated posh Crumbelina so much as holding hands with the immature jokester Gloyd sounded positively absurd to Rancis. "Seriously? How can you tell?"

The daredevil grinned. "Only by watching him. He pulls pranks on every one of us, but he always seems to save the most complicated ones for her doorstep. Those aren't tricks to treat himself, dude. They're set to impress."

"Are they working?"

"Judging by her face when he swapped all the fondue in her hot tub for tomato juice last year...nope."

The boys snickered, with Rancis trying to keep the noise level down since Candlehead was still fast asleep.

Swizzle stopped laughing and instead took on a slight look of nervousness for once. "So…you think I have a good chance with Mints?"

Rancis waved his hand dismissively. "I think you have a _great _chance, Swizz. If anything, she should count herself lucky; you had seven girls to pick and she was the one you chose."

Swizzle considered this. "Yeah, I guess if you put it that way…she _should_ feel lucky! Thanks, dude. And speaking of girls, what about yours?"

Rancis looked confused. "Mine?"

In response, Swizzle gestured to the sleeping girl lying upon Rancis' chest, snoring lightly. One of his arms was still draped around her shoulders. "What's the status with you and _Candles?_"

The peanut butter boy frowned. "Swizz, what are you talking about? She's not mine."

Swizzle crossed his arms, obviously not convinced. "You know, I didn't believe it at first when Gloyd told me you were skipping my shooting rally celebration so you could drive around with Candlehead, but…now that I'm seeing you two with my own eyes, that idea isn't that crazy anymore. Sure sounds like you had one heck of a date tonight."

Rancis blushed. "It's not like that, Swizzle," he said defensively. "And it wasn't a _date_. I was just showing her around so we could do a little exploring."

Swizzle smirked. He was clearly enjoying this. "And you didn't invite anyone except her. Sounds like a date to me."

The blush deepened and Rancis looked away, feeling annoyed and flustered. He considered telling Swizzle that it was a spur of the moment decision to take Candlehead exploring after he had successfully cheered her up last night, but he decided against this. Candlehead's sorrow wasn't anyone's business.

Unsure with how he was going to argue this, he cast a glance back at Swizzle and saw a different expression on the green-haired boy; his teasing smirk was replaced with a soft look of what seemed to be empathy and compassion. This shimmering change was accompanied by a kinder tone with which he then used to speak. "Serious talk here for a sec, Rance. I'm not accusing you…I'm just curious, because you've been hanging out with Candlehead a lot lately. And that doesn't count the times when you guys were Taffyta's closest minions. Ever since Mom and Dad adopted us, you've been a lot friendlier than you were when we first got plugged in, like to everyone in general. And I can't help but notice the little ways you've been extra friendly to her. Noticing this kind of stuff is usually Crumbelina's special power, but I'll tell you what…the way you look at her…it's almost as if you want her to look at you in the same way back."

Rancis looked down at the ground, pointedly not at Candlehead, and shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't feel like talking about this since he wasn't too sure of an answer for Swizzle. But he had to say something.

"I…I don't know Swizzle. I mean, I like Candlehead and all, but…"

His voice trailed off as he looked at Swizzle, who was still waiting patiently for an answer. This wasn't getting any easier for him in any way. He sighed in defeat. "I'm really not sure where my feelings are right now to be honest."

Swizzle still maintained the look of compassion, something rather rare for him. "Well, how do you feel when you're around her?" the daredevil prompted him.

How did he feel? Rancis could hardly be sure himself, but he thought back to all those different emotions that he had felt in the past hours spent hanging out and having fun with Candlehead. The swooping sensations that left him feeling happy. Excited. Joyful that she was having the time of her life. And that alone had made him experience thrills and chills of immense pleasure. He never really felt any of these things when he was around the other girls. But at the same time, he had also felt a slight twinge of nervousness that he might upset her if he said or did the wrong thing. That little glow of uncertainty never did taint the enjoyment that he shared with Candlehead, but it was still present, lingering in the shadows. It was all so…so…weird.

That seemed to sum it all up.

"I feel weird," he said truthfully.

Swizzle nodded in understanding. "I get it, dude."

"You do?"

He nodded again. "Totally. 'Cuz that's exactly how I describe my feelings when I'm around Minty."

Rancis gulped. "_She _makes me feel weird. And I don't know why. I'm just…I'm so confused right now."

Still in his sitting position, Swizzle leaned towards him. "Is that why you didn't hit her with your Sweet Seekers in the last race?"

Rancis' heart skipped and he stared crestfallen at his friend. "You saw that?"

"No, but you know how all our races are filmed. I was watching the video in the replay booth and I noticed that you had a clear shot of Candlehead in the Gorge with one Sweet Seeker left in the pistol."

Presented with the evidence, Rancis groaned and rubbed his face in embarrassment and guilt. If this continued, who knew what the players would think if they selected him as their avatar? Him being too chicken to attack Candlehead could jeopardize their whole game. This was not good at all.

Candlehead mumbled something in her sleep, then snored.

Swizzle gave his friend a small assuring smile. "Hey, it's okay, bro. I hesitate too when I have to blast Minty. But you gotta remember that we're racers. All of us. These power-ups don't hurt anyone. And we can't let our feelings get in the way of our work. As much as I hate to say it, we both need to get our heads out of the gutter and into the game, using attacks and boosters as normal, or the players might think we're bugged or something. Then it's game-over for all of us."

Before Rancis could say anything, Swizzle stood up. "I'm not going to tell you what you should feel or what you should do next, Rancis. I'll let you decide these things on your own. All I'll say is that based on how happy you guys look whenever you hang around each other, I think you're standing in a pretty darn good position right now."

Feeling a strange mixture of both gratefulness and new anxiety, Rancis decided that for now, all he could do was just leave it at that. At least he knew Swizzle was there to watch his back. Even in the Turbo era, he, Swizzle, and Gloyd had been thickest thieves. Being the only boys in a larger group of girls, it was no surprise that it fell naturally upon them to stick together, and he knew he could trust them with sensitive stuff like this. His current predicament was no exception and that alone did ease his worries a bit, even if he wasn't any closer in sorting them out.

"Thanks, Swizz."

"No problem, bud." Swizzle tightened his swirl-beanie as he looked up at the sky. "Well, arcade's gonna open pretty soon. I suggest you wake her up and get that mud off ya. We're all on the avatar slate and appearance is just as important as racing!"

Rancis nodded and gave thumbs-up. He watched as Swizzle started to make his way down the hilltop towards the village. Before he disappeared, he turned around to meet his eye. "And Rance?" he called back to him.

"Yeah?"

"You and I share something in common…we both have a thing for _greenheads!"_ Swizzle laughed and sprinted off out of sight, leaving his two friends alone once more.

The boy watched him leave, then cast his gaze down upon Candlehead's head. _It's not really green…more of a…shiny aqua-emerald. Anyone can see that._

Instead of waking the girl from her slumber, Rancis Fluggerbutter found himself thinking long and hard of the conversation he and Swizzle had just exchanged. What was Swizzle trying to tell him? He liked Candlehead, yes, but did he like her in…_that _way? And even if he did, did she feel the same way about him? How could he be sure? He looked down at the girl, still sleeping and still clinging softly to him. Subconsciously, he rubbed her back soothingly as he pondered upon every little thought that was making in his mind swirl in a tornado of chaos. What was it about this girl that affected him on such a profound level?

Candlehead sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, arms still snaked around his middle.

She was a strange girl. She wore candles. She preferred to skip and bounce around rather than walk. She sang without caring if anyone was watching (though to be fair, she could sing like an angel, unlike himself). She was slower to catch onto things that everyone thought obvious and took longer than others to understand a task at hand. She could turn anything into a game and remained cheerful in almost every circumstance. She was one of the best racers on the track and could easily give him a run for his money. And she loved fire.

And as if there wasn't enough to take into consideration already, he could not deny that he thought that she was extremely pretty.

Rancis thought back at everything he had been through tonight. With Candlehead, he had willingly lost himself in deep dark mines of fudge. He had wrestled with her in a huge mud pit just for the fun of it. He had literally eaten part of his own kart.

She was a weird girl who did weird things. But because of her, he felt weird and did weird things alongside her. But this girl was also his best friend. She was kind, understanding, and nothing short of sweet. And he wouldn't trade her eccentricity for anything else. She was 'funny weird' and he liked it. He even liked the weird feelings she gave him.

Realizing that he should probably wake her up so they could get ready for the race, Rancis suddenly remembered that Candlehead still didn't have a fast-powered engine. Not wanting to give up for Candlehead's sake, he racked his brain to think of something, _any way _to help her_._ It was too late to try to catch another engine block from the ranch or purchase one from the kart bakery, and every other engine he knew was going to be in use all day.

But it just wasn't fair for her to race with such a disadvantage. He sighed unhappily, wishing he could live up to his official bio and have a bright idea right now.

"I'll think of something, Candlehead. I promise," he whispered to her, suddenly noticing that his hand was fiddling with one of her pigtails. Her hair felt so soft. So calm and peaceful, she looked like a princess; it was a shame he had to wake her. Well, there was only one way to wake up a princess. Pushing her bangs back gently, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Candlehead stirred and slowly opened her eyes, long eyelashes fluttering as she did. Groggy and unfamiliar with her surroundings, she momentarily didn't know where she was…until she peered up and locked eyes with Rancis.

That simple graceful smile that he secretly loved spread silently across her face; he could not hide from how adorable she looked with those big shiny eyes looking up at him this way.

"Hello," she said sweetly.

"Hi," he said.

She slowly removed one arm to place a hand to his chest, stroking it slowly. "You're a nice pillow," she hummed.

Rancis really didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing. Instead, he stroked her hair lightly, the same way he had done to her last night on the balcony, causing her to close her eyes contently from the oddly soothing motions. She didn't want him to stop.

"Um, the arcade's going to open soon, so we should probably head back and get this chocolate off," he told her, after a moment of silence.

Candlehead sighed. "I wish we had one more day off…we could stay right here," she mumbled wistfully.

Rancis smiled a little. He had been wishing for the exact same thing. "Um, Candles, can I tell you something?"

"What is it?" she asked as she finally sat up and gave a big stretch. "Do I have chocolate on my face too?"

She said that with a distinct sliver of hope in her voice.

Rancis took a deep breath. This was already feeling extremely difficult, given that his insides were feeling all clammy and a huge weight of unknown mass was sitting uneasily in his stomach.

But he had to tell her. So he let it out.

"I think you're weird."

She stopped midway of grabbing her beanie from the grass. "Huh?"

"I said I think you're weird."

Candlehead stared at him in curiosity. "Why do you say that?"

"You're weird because you act weird and make me feel weird," Rancis said looking away, realizing that he wasn't really explaining this very well. But when he looked back at her, she was smirking.

"I'm weird huh? Well, you know what, Rancis? I think you're weird too."

The weight in his stomach lightened considerably when she said this. He took a moment to process it before responding back. "So…I guess we're both weird?

Candlehead beamed. "We're weird _together. _Taffyta was right. We're a couple of weirdos."

At this, Rancis found himself laughing as he stood up. The lump inside him had strangely vanished. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

She too giggled and then blushed when he offered her a hand to get up.

A couple of weirdos they were and a couple of weirdos they would be to the end. He wouldn't have it any other way.


	5. You Make Me Happy

**Part 5 – You Make Me Happy**

With only an hour before the arcade's opening and before the racers had to report to the track, the kids drove back to Racers' Ave. and split off separate ways to their respective homes. After a quick bath and change of clothes, Candlehead sat before her vanity mirror, her candle burning brilliantly on her beanie which was placed on the tabletop before her. Hair down, she was giving it a good brushing, simultaneously humming herself a merry little tune and thinking deeply. Since there were no upgrades or tune-ups available for the Ice Screamer, it was parked in her driveway ready to go and she was taking the time to reflect on all that had transpired.

Certainly a familiar scene, for she had been in this exact room almost 11 hours ago before the Random Roster race and her adventure tour of _Sugar Rush _with Rancis. And while she was physically in the same place as before, her mind was so very far away.

Wonderful memories took control of the reins of her thinking; never before had she remembered having so much fun. Not even the pleasures she had enjoyed when she had gone to Vanellope's sleepover at the castle with the rest of the girls compared to what she had felt last night.

But while it had been fun, there was also a shimmer of blank confusion and wonder filling her head. How she had felt when she had been around Rancis and the compelling longing to see him again, and just him alone, so they could spend time together and have fun, just the two of them. Candlehead had never felt like this with anyone before and was unsure of what to do or how to act upon these weird emotions. She had been pondering upon these questions ever since setting foot in her home to clean herself of the chocolate stains and her time of thinking had been mildly successful in that she had reached a small conclusion: Rancis made her so very happy. And not only that, but she wanted more of this happiness. Did that mean she wanted to be with Rancis more frequently? Candlehead wasn't sure. She certainly would not mind hanging out with him again. Perhaps if she confided her bewilderment with Mom or Dad, they would have an answer to put her heart at ease.

Brushing complete, Candlehead carefully tied up her pigtails and stared at her reflection, feeling a little self-conscious as she gazed at her emerald hair. _He thinks my hair is pretty,_ she thought to herself with a tingling sensation swishing her insides, resulting in a giddy smile to cross her face.

The chime of the doorbell broke Candlehead's thoughts and she quickly left her room, grabbing her candle-lit beanie on the way. Maybe Jubileena was here to remind her once again to not be late for the race.

A pleasant surprise awaited her on the other side of the door. "Rancis!" she said enthusiastically.

"Hey, Candles."

Happy as she was to see him, she was also very puzzled. "What are you doing here? I thought you left for the race already."

He smiled at her, attempting to hide something behind his feet. "Oh, I was just heading out. But first, I needed to deliver something to you."

Her face shone brightly. "You got me a present?" she asked, her hands flying all the way up to her chin with anticipation. Presents and birthday parties went hand-in-hand.

The boy relished in her cuteness for a brief second. "I guess you could call it that." He side-stepped to reveal the object hiding behind him.

Candlehead's eyes became the size of jawbreakers. Standing there, on her doorstep, was an engine block. It looked up at her with curious eyes before bouncing up and down with excitement.

She approached the little engine, upon which it jumped into her arms, squeaking happily and licking her face. She giggled at its affection and then turned to Rancis, who was watching all this with utmost satisfaction. "It likes you," he stated simply.

"Wh-wh-wh-where, I mean how did you get this?!"

He gave an easy shrug. "That doesn't matter. The point is that you have an engine now. It's a good one, trust me. Fast, reliable, lots of spirit, but most importantly _tamed_. Come on, let's get it hooked up to your kart."

But Candlehead just stood there, looking at the little engine block, which was nuzzling her cheek. It certainly looked eager to work for her. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she looked up at Rancis, the most amazing friend ever who had somehow gotten her a real engine to use out of his own accord.

Rancis noticed the slow tears that were now leaking down her cheeks. "Do…do you like it?" he asked tentatively.

She gently set the engine down on the porch and wiped her eyes. "I love it," she choked. Then, without warning, she threw her arms around Rancis and hugged him so tightly that she actually lifted him off her feet. "I love it, I love it, I love it!" she squealed into his ear over and over as she swung him around several times. She was surprisingly strong.

Rancis had to take a few moments to recover from his dizziness when she set him back down to earth. "It's perfect, Rancis!" she gushed. "It's…amazing. _You're _amazing."

He regained his balance and ran his hand over his hair to smooth it out, trying to be aloof while at the same time hide his growing feeling of pride. "Aw, you know…I try," he breezed as he stuffed his hands cooly into his pockets.

She gazed at him wistfully. "What have I done to deserve this?"

Rancis looked at her as if that were the most obvious question in the world. "Nothing. You're my best friend, Candlehead. I love to make you happy any way I can because…because seeing you happy makes _me_ happy."

Overused words, cliché no doubt, but they were words of truth.

Candlehead stared at her friend, then walked right up to him as if her feet were gliding towards a coveted gold coin in a dreamy sort of way. Rancis actually had to tilt his head back slightly as she drew herself close. The girl looked deeply into his blue eyes, collecting her thoughts before speaking again.

"Rancis Fluggerbutter?"

"Candlehead?"

"Do you really mean that? Are you telling me the honest truth?"

The boy stared at her in disbelief over why she might be in doubt over what he had just said to her. "Candlehead…I don't think I've _ever _been more truthful. Your happiness brings me happiness. It's…it's something I've just been learning for a few weeks now."

That was all Candlehead needed to hear. She smiled sweetly at her friend and blushed lightly as she said her piece. "Good. 'Cuz I don't need an engine block to be happy. I have you. _You_ make me happy. Being friends with you makes me the happiest avatar in the arcade."

Rancis blinked and he too began to blush at her confession. He rubbed his arm, wanting to avert his eyes, but found he could not break their connected gaze.

"Well Candlehead, I…I guess…it's you who makes me happy too. You're all I need, really…"

Her blush intensified and she looked away bashfully. "Oh, stop," she murmured, her soft smile filling her face.

"No, really, I mean it," Rancis insisted, her playful order to stop flattering her with his deepest, most honest thoughts somehow generating a sudden boost of confidence to push him to continue. "Candlehead, you…you're just…so much fun to be with. Really kind and sweet and beautiful – "

Candlehead's wide green eyes darted back to him with surprise and she blushed furiously. Rancis stopped abruptly when he said that. Too late, the word was out. But he had more to say and he pressed on. "…I feel totally at ease when I'm around you. Like I can just be myself and relax. You're completely weird, but I love it. And…and you know how your official bio states that you're a few scoops short of a sundae? I don't know who wrote that, but I don't think that was ever true. Over the past six years, I've realized…you're the whole sundae to me."

That last part was what truly got her. Every byte of her code sparked so much energy through her body that the candle on her beanie lit up three times as brightly. With her cheeks positively burning and her hand levitating up over her heart, Candlehead gazed dumbstruck into Rancis' eyes as he finished. And she knew that there was no need to ask him whether he was telling the truth this time. The sincerity and honesty laced in his voice and shining in his eyes told her the answer.

Rancis was so busy looking at her now-flaring candle that he was caught off guard when she suddenly stepped forward again to wrap her arms around his neck and look deeply into his blue eyes, their faces only inches apart. "Rancis…that's the sweetest thing anyone has _ever_ told me. You are nothing but a weirdo."

He stared at her enormous green eyes. That wasn't really the response he had been expecting. "Uh, thanks?"

"But you're my _favourite _weirdo," she purred. She closed the gap separating them as she hugged her friend with as much passion as she could muster. The boy smiled as he returned the embrace, gently rubbing her back as he did. Unlike the hug she had given him just before they had headed out on their adventure last night, he didn't care if anyone was watching them or what they could be thinking about him right now. All he cared about was Candlehead and all he wanted to do was hug her, letting his growing fondness for her pass on through his arms that held her closely and somehow find a way to tap the surface of her code to let her know just how much she meant to him.

"Rancis, thank you. You're the best," she spoke into his shoulder with barely a whisper.

He smiled smugly. "When am I not?" he teased, enjoying the feeling of his friend pressed upon the side of his head. "And you're welcome."

Candlehead lifted one of her feet gracefully into the air as she strengthened her grip on him. The little engine block cuddled up to her remaining leg as it observed this tender scene. Eventually, the girl pulled back, but didn't completely let go; she gazed misty-eyed at his pretty face, arms still wrapped around his neck. Rancis observed the light in her green irises courtesy of the bright sunlight that was making them sparkle. He began to feel his brain tense up again as she slowly ran her palm along his cheek; her face was just so close to his own…

_VVRRRRRMMMMMMMM!_

The kids jumped apart as they were rudely interrupted. A brightly-painted go-kart cut out of a giant kernel of candy corn stood on the gingerbread road behind them. And Gloyd Orangeboar, sitting at the wheel, was staring at them with a look of utmost disgust.

"Alright lovebirds, enough of the goo-goo eyes already, or I'm gonna lose my cookies. There'll be plenty of time for _that _after work! Now saddle up, we have quarter alerts to answer and races to win!"

Rancis shot an annoyed death-glare in Gloyd's direction as the latter sped off in his Kernel. _I'll get you for this, Gloyd_, he thought darkly. He then turned his attention to Candlehead. "Um, sorry about Gloyd…I-I really don't know what he's talking…"

But the rest of his speech was doused out when he suddenly felt a pair of soft lips plant a delicate kiss on his cheek. His programming went into hyperdrive and his eyes widened as he felt both cheeks burn hotly in response to this swift movement. He looked at the girl. She too was sporting a deep blush along with a cheesy wide smile directed up at him while her hands fiddled absent-mindedly with her jacket zipper. And although neither of them knew it, both were feeling that same weird sensation flowing through their code, which miraculously mirrored the other in unbelievable synchronization. That very same emotion that had lingered in their hearts during all the hours spent together was very much present at this very moment. But then again, it had never disappeared in the first place.

Rancis said nothing more. Instead, his mouth stretched into a ridiculous, goofy smile for Candlehead, his cheek still tingling from the recent contact.

But unfortunately, they were destined to be broken from their sweet trance yet again, for it seemed that not even the most special of moments were capable of lasting forever: a distant, yet loud voice over the racetrack's loudspeakers blared out for the entire game to hear. _"Attention! The arcade will be opening in 20 minutes. Racers, please report to the racetrack."_

Candlehead was the first to move. She bent down and tucked her new engine under her arm before grasping Rancis' hand. "Well, come on! Help me get this engine hooked up!"

The silly smile remained on Rancis Fluggerbutter's face as he succumbed to his eager friend dragging him over to the Ice Screamer. Every fiber in his code felt proud and pleased that Candlehead would now be able to drive like her speedy little self again. Truth be told, he was still uncertain of the emotions that melted over his candy heart when he was around her. But in contrast, there was one master staple that he was confident with: if he could continue to make her smile when he put his mind to it, then he was happy where he currently stood in his relationship with the candle-loving girl, and was not in any hurry to sort these feelings out completely. Maybe one day, he would finally put the puzzle together, but that day would come when the time was right and there was no point in worrying. He would just have to meet that day when it arrived; for now, he was content. The task at hand at the moment was to install his little gift into her kart and head down for today's worth of quarter alerts.

The RV1, sitting in his garage at his house, would have to wait until he caught another engine from the ranch before it could take its owner out for another spin. But Rancis didn't feel a single twinge of regret at all for losing the ability to race with that kart; in fact, he felt quite honoured that Candlehead would now have a portion of his and Vanellope's creation in her Ice Screamer. That engine had helped him win his first _Sugar Rush _cup, so donating it to the friend who meant the most to him felt like the right thing to do. Besides, he still had the Kit Kart.

Rancis may have given up his engine block, but in its place, he had won something a lot better than that. Candlehead was worth far more to him than an engine and the empty cup it brought.

**THE END**

_A/N: Thank you for reading._


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